The present invention relates generally to a braiding machine, and more particularly to a braiding machine having a plurality of bobbin supports which are movable along a track. The invention is suitable with particular advantage, although not exclusively, to a braiding machine which applies braid onto a hose. Such braiding machines are shown in German Pat. No. 517,586 of Feb. 5th, 1931.
Braiding machines of this type have bobbin supports which carry respective supply bobbins, that is bobbins carrying a supply of filament, bead, thread, wire or the like. The bobbin supports are movable along a track and are advanced along the track by an arrangement whose operation is similiar to that of a Geneva motion.
The problem with the prior-art machines of this type is that the bobbin supports alternately engage and disengage a plurality of rotary drivers which are arranged along the track and which serve to engage the motion-transmitting portion of the bobbin supports in order to advance the latter along the track. The engagement of the motion-transmitting portions with the drivers involves entry of a motion-transmitting portion into one of a plurality of circumferentially spaced recesses on the respective driver, advancement with the rotating driver through a portion of arc, movement outwardly of the recess and into engagement with the periphery of an adjacent driver, movement along this periphery through a small distance and entry into a recess in the periphery of the adjacent driver, whereupon the operation repeats with respect to a further driver.
Braiding machines are widely known for the very considerable noise level which they develop in operation, and which results from the contact of the motion-transmitting portions of the bobbin supports with the respective drivers. It has been proposed to line the recesses in the peripheries of the drivers with synthetic plastic material, but it was then discovered that this does not materially aid in reducing the noise level during operation. Moreover, it is not advisable to use any significant amount of synthetic plastic material for the movable components of the braiding machine, such as the motion-transmitting portions of the bobbin supports, because such synthetic plastic material tends to wear quite rapidly and this leads to frequent repairs with the necessary machine downtime.